Richard Cummings Exhibit

                                               

Guest artist Richard Cummings will be the final artist to be featured this semester in Ouachita Baptist University’s Hammons Gallery. His series, “Bits of Redemption,” will be displayed Nov. 22-Dec. 15.

“We have chosen to have Richard exhibit at this time because he is the last installment in a series of exhibits focused on either assemblage, graphic design or a combination of the two,” said Donnie Copeland, OBU assistant professor of visual arts.

“Cummings makes collecting and reusing – or as he calls it ‘redeeming’ – the subject of his works,” Copeland added. “The act of piecing together parts which have nothing in common other than their collective status as rubbish and debris is a symbolic gesture of reinvesting worth in the substance of both our and nature’s past.”

“His rhetoric is also religious in temperament,” Copeland noted. “He extends the meaning of his intended metaphor to the Christian idea of redemption.”

Cummings is a professional artist and designer and serves as associate professor of art at the College of the Ozarks. He is also the director of the College of the Ozarks’ Boger Gallery. Cummings specializes in designing for non-profits and has been featured in Christianity Today online.

Ouachita’s series of exhibits focusing on found objects and graphic design has also included work by three well-known logo designers, Rolando Murillo, Tom Nynas and Brian Owens, and most recently of artist Matthew Tullis.- By: Lori Hilburn

Visit His website at www.richardwcummings.com or his facebook page for his art "Bits of Redemption ".

Juried Drawing Exhibit 2011

Ouachita Baptist University Department of Visual Arts announces a call for entries for a regional drawing exhibition to be held February 7-19. High school juniors and seniors from AR, MS, MO, OK, TN, TX are invited to submit 1 work in any drawing media. All submitted works will be hung. No Entry Fee.

Awards:

Best of Show $100
Dean’s Choice $50
Student’s Choice $50

How to submit:

Actual drawings along with entry form should be packaged carefully and mailed by February 4 to:

Juried Drawing Exhibit
Department of Visual Art
Ouachita Baptist University
410 Ouachita Street
Arkadelphia, AR 71998

Works may be hand-delivered. Call 870/245-5559 in advance to make an appointment.

Calendar:

February 4 Last day for delivery of works
February 7 Show opens
February 19 Art Day: Workshop, Portfolio Review, Reception

Return of work:

Drawings should be picked up at the closing reception. Otherwise an appointment may be scheduled for pick up by calling 870/245-5559. If return shipping is preferred adequate postage for return shipping must accompany the artwork at the time of the original shipping to Ouachita Baptist University.

Questions? Call 870/245-5559 or email copelandd@obu.edu.

Interested in attending the Workshop on February 19? Space is limited. Call 870/245-5559 or email copelandd@obu.edu before January 21 to reserve your spot.

Tape on the Walls Progression

In this year's tape on the walls project, one student, Adam Oakes, took a progressive look at his art work.

It went from being simple, whimsical black lines....

to swirls with an edge...

with the addition to movement and sparks flying..

More character, gesure and movement...

to the addition of various line qualities, style and a burst of movement.

As you can see, it is beneficial to look at art as a process and to monitor the progress in stages. As Adam continued through his work, he made every mark count as he changed a simply whimsical black line into a magnificent movement of art. Thanks go out to Adam for sharing his photos.

Tape On the Walls and the Winner is............

This years Tape On the Walls project was a huge success. Armed with only roles of black masking tape students Visual Fundamentals students transformed OBU's walls into a wonderland. This year's judge, Associate Professor of Art at Henderson State University, Aaron Calvert said, "I based my decision on three things creativity, craftsmanship, and use of the space. This years winner had all three really going on."

Jeff Sharp 1st Prize

Zack Nottingham 2nd Place

Katie Hopmann 3rd

Matthew Tullis Exhibit

October 5, 2010 


Sculptor Matthew Tullis is presenting an art exhibit, “Alphabetic Reclamations,” in the Hammons Gallery at Ouachita Baptist University Oct. 4-28.

“My goal for the audience is to share my appreciation for, and devotion to, the disparate letterforms of this unusual alphabet,” Tullis said.

Tullis makes use of found materials in his artwork. His “Alternative Typestyles” are sculptural works that combine his interests in graphic design and typography with salvaged, natural and antique materials.

“Typography, the classic element of visual communication, bridges both the fine art and graphic design disciplines, and is the subject of my work,” Tullis said. “I strive to assemble typographic artifacts in an alphabetic gestalt, where the whole is more fluent than any individual piece.

“Each sculpture is informed by three factors: the natural decay of the original typographic specimen, the contextual history of the found-object letterform, and my own typographic sensibilities,” he added.

“Having Matt’s work in our gallery continues the discussions on art and design begun with ‘The Logo Show!’ and Rick Poynor’s visit,” explained Donnie Copeland, Ouachita assistant professor of visual arts, citing two other design-related events hosted on campus earlier this semester.

“When Rick Poynor was on campus a few weeks ago, he emphasized how graphic design and visual communication are connected to other art forms and can be a continuation of a movement like surrealism which has a strong presence in film, painting and architecture,” Copeland added. “In Matthew’s works, those connections are emphasized again, this time between sculpture and letterforms, assemblage and pastiche.” 


Tullis, a professor of art at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, will speak to classes in Ouachita’s Department of Visual Arts in Moses-Provine room 203, on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m.

Tullis was born in Idaho and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He attended Oregon State University, where he studied graphic design. He moved to Philadelphia in 1989 and attended graduate school at Temple University. A few years later, he moved back to Eugene, Ore., and worked in a graphic design studio for about a decade before deciding to teach full time. That brought Tullis to Bowling Green, Ky., where he has been teaching at Western Kentucky University and making art since 2000. 


When he is not designing or creating sculptures, he enjoys skateboarding, cutting firewood, fishing and spending time with his family.  
To see more of his work visit http://www.matttullis.com/ 


For more information, contact Donnie Copeland at copelandd@obu.edu or Matthew Tullis at matthew.tullis@wku.edu.  
By Megan Ruggles

Tape On the Walls is Back

Visual Fundamentals student have once again taken over the second floor of Moses Provine. Armed with only roles of black masking tape the students will tranform our halls into a wonderland. Come check out their progress during the week. Prizes are given out for the top three places. Check out last years top winners.

Sarah Henley Grand prize

Jillian Sharp 3rd place tie

Hannah Pfeiffer 2nd

Kit Curlin 3rd place tie

Rick Poynor

When Rick Poynor spoke to classes on the 16th he shared with us about the exhibit he put together about surrealism and graphic design at the Moravian Gallery in Brno, Czech Republic. The exhibit is titled “Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design”. He spoke for more than an hour about the subject and filled out heads with all sorts of details. It was refreshing to hear someone speak about the connections between design and fine art rather than how they are so different.




If you missed his presentation, it was sort of a spur of the moment sort of thing, you can read about the exhibit and see some of the same images he showed us in class at http://www.printmag.com/Article/The-Complex-Bonds-Between-Design-and-Surrealism#axzz10UpfsuW7. The article is also available in the library in the current issue of Print, the magazine. For you graphic designers and any aspiring illustrators, there is also a listing on the Print website and in the magazine for a competition called “Hand Drawn”. The winner gets $500. Good luck. The website also lists other competitions.



I wish I could tell you that the exhibit in the Czech Republic is available online but the website seems to be unavailable.